The ESL has already revealed the 24 teams who will be present and in-attendance at the ESL Pro League's 23rd season when that takes place in March in Stockholm. The tournament will happen between March 1-15 and many of the biggest teams and organisations around the world will be on-hand and competing for the trophy and the available prize money too.
As for the attending teams, the ESL has shared the following graphic, and if you are wondering why some big names are missing, it has been confirmed that Team Falcons and Team Vitality both declined their invitation for this tournament (likely to give players a chance to rest amid 2026's immensely hectic calendar), with this providing room for Ninjas in Pyjamas and Passion UA to fill the gap. This change does mean that due to rankings standings, both Aurora and B8 get direct invites to Stage 2 and don't have to progress through Stage 1 first.
Likewise, FUT Esports gained a spot as a previous competitive ruling at Season 22 meant that Lynn Vision was banned from their next Tier 1 VRS tournament, which just so happens to be Season 23.
Check out the full list of invitees below.
Stage 1 Invitees:
- Legacy
- G2 Esports
- Team Liquid
- 3DMax
- Astralis
- Heroic
- PaiN Gaming
- FUT Esports
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- Passion UA
- Parivision
- NRG
- Gaimin Gladiators
- Semper Fi Esports
- M80
- Monte
Stage 2 Invitees:
- Furia
- Team Spirit
- Natus Vincere
- Mouz
- FaZe Clan
- The MongolZ
- Aurora Gaming
- B8
